UN calls for Libya ceasefire as death toll climbs to 1,000

The UN Security Council called on Friday for a ceasefire in Libya as the death toll from a three-month offensive on Tripoli reached 1,000, including scores killed in an air strike that hit a detention centre for migrants.

The council condemned the late Tuesday attack on the Tajoura detention camp east of Tripoli and “stressed the need for all parties to urgently de-escalate the situation and to commit to a ceasefire”, said a joint statement.

Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, whose forces hold eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, launched an offensive in early April to wrestle the capital from forces loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).

Air strikes and ground fighting have since left nearly 1,000 people dead and some 5,000 wounded, the UN’s World Health Organization said.

The fighting has forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes and threatens to plunge Libya into deeper conflict.

Among the dead are 53 migrants killed Tuesday night in an air raid on a detention centre in the Tripoli suburb of Tajoura, held by the GNA, which accused Haftar’s forces of carrying out the strike.

A Geneva-based spokesman for the International Organization for Migration said six children were among the migrants killed.

Joel Millman said that 350 migrants, including 20 women and four children, were still detained at the centre, one of five air hangars hit in the raid.

World powers have been divided over how to respond to Haftar’s offensive, with the United States and Russia refusing to condemn the Libyan strongman.

The British-drafted council statement condemned the attack on the migrant camp, called for a return to political talks and for full respect of the arms embargo on Libya.

It followed a closed-door council meeting on Wednesday during which US diplomats said they needed more time to consult with Washington on the proposed text.

The United Nations has called for an independent investigation to determine who was responsible for the strike on the centre, which housed some 600 migrants, mainly from African countries.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey – which backs the GNA – called for an end to “unlawful attacks” by Haftar’s forces during a meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Istanbul on Friday, the Turkish presidency said.

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